The Shattered Soul

[Purr]

"Just a moment, please." Dreamy steps a little closer. She studies the creature and the arrowhead as to be able to remember significant details.

 

[Purr]

After she is finished examining both, Dreamy mounts back up and is ready to ride, satisfied.

"I bet that thing is going to stink like crazy when it gets lit up! Ick!"

 

[Silanon]

It only takes so much time for Dreamy to take another sharp look - nothing new is revealed, but she's very much certain that she could recall everything of importance.

After that... it's time for alchemy. The worry about the near surrounding is somewhat warranted - but Fijit is an upcoming master of her craft, not some careless dawdler. Quickly, flames engulf the cadaver as if it waited for that moment far too long - the alchemical fire burns short, but furiously, leaving little more behind than a blackened circle on the ground, and the scent of ash. Your horses follow their natural instincts - to get away from flames, and sudden surprises - but none of you have trouble keeping them under control. A quick glance shows no sign of spreading sparks or other dangers - simply put: A job well done.

Certain that there is nothing more to be done to banish the taint of undeath from this place, you find little reason to delay your trip further. Time might be of essence, after all, given that so much is still unclear. Soon, you find yourself moving onwards. After about half an hour or so, you can spot the silhouettes of mighty pine trees - a little grove along the water, dense enough for the path to leave the river behind and curve around the impassable parts of it. Still, there's a narrow trail following the river. Those familiar with the area (mostly everyone who does not just stay at the mansion) know that it's a short-cut that'd buy you about an hour, most likely; and it's wide enough for a horse to pass by, though only barely at times.

Which path do you want to take, and are there other matters you wish to discuss?

 

[jaydude]

Which path do you want to take, and are there other matters you wish to discuss?

Rodrik could think of nothing else he wanted to bring up right now, and given that he worked at the mansion most of the time these days, he saw no reason to deviate onto the narrow trail.

 

[Kaerri]

Fijit observes the fire with professional interest tinged with pride. It's always nice when things go according to plan. And the surrounding greenery, upon inspection, is unhurt, also a plus. She scrambles gracelessly back onto her patient steed and resumes her place next to Thomas. "Who d'you suppose shot that bat thing?" she asks him, bouncing a little in her saddle. The alchemist has spent the greater part of her time either indoors or afoot, and her muscles are starting to protest, though not seriously. The serious complaints will probably come tomorrow, she figures, but that's all right. A small price to pay for repaying Jordenin's kindness to her. "Must've been someone unusual, with arrows like that," she continues her earlier thought. "Or do hunters usually go about with cold iron arrowheads?" It's never come up in her conversations here, but others might have discussed different things with different people.

 

[Purr]

Silanon

Which path do you want to take, and are there other matters you wish to discuss?

After one long look at the forest path, and with a sigh of longing coupled with a look as if she could just somehow swim over the path altogether, Dreamy turns to everyone else. "Hey! I know this trail. It's a bit of a pain some spots and its single-file only, but if we take it, we can save an hour. Who likes the sound of that?"

If the fellowship agrees (as we seem to have in OOC), Dreamy thinks a moment and lays out the following recommendation for a single-file formation.

Spoiler: Recommendation

Dreamy, Amber, Fijit, Thomas, Rodrik, Aysik.

Dreamy up front with shield drawn backed by melee-oriented Amber and Fijit hopefully close enough to throw. Thomas behind Fijit with Rodrik behind her and Aysik's well-armored self walking as our "Tail End Charlie" with Rodrick able to cover him with his crossbow.

How's that sound, friends?

 

[Sherwood]

Aysik nods. "Every hour saved is good. Let us be on the path." He steers his horse to the side to allow everyone to pass on by him and he takes up position at the rear of the column, keeping an eye on their rear, and making sure to occasionally look up to the sky to see if there are any other threats coming from up there.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Shifting uncomfortably in his saddle, Thomas manages a "Yes." from between gritted teeth. His rump was starting to get sore from the unfamiliar saddle and the constant jarring his spine was taking from his inexperience in horse-back riding was starting to give him a headache.

 

[Psychie]

Amber nudges her horse to fall into line behind Dreamy's own horse, keeping her own eyes open for any sign of other dead things that are running about.

 

[Silanon]

As you begin to take the trail along the river - with Dreamy in the lead, and Aysik in the rear - the path is in the same state that the shore-born remembers; narrow at times, but mostly without obstacles. At times, it avoids the rocky riverbank by cutting through the dense forest in other places, rampant vegetation forces you to direct your horses through the narrower water instead. The further you travel, the wilder the river becomes. Rocks in its bed let it splash in all directions, and white foam dances where passes through narrow passages. You know that Westport is comparably wealthy mostly because ships can not safely travel further north; to your left, you can see the reason firsthand.

Where the river turns more ferocious and noisy, the forest remains eerily silent. Perhaps the sounds of the water drown out its sounds, but neither birds nor other animals catch your attention as you continue the trip - other than a lone falcon in the sky. It seems to be a place of wild nature, interrupted by reminders of the evil in the west; corruption soaked the ground where the witch Hydra made her stand in the Duke's name more than a hundred years ago, and the ancient trees paid part of the price. Between young and untouched pines, you can spot them every now and then - mighty trunks that dwarf everything around them, covered in blackened bark and without signs of life. Long-dead eyewitnesses of brutal clashes, still too mighty to fall.


After another three-quarter hour, Dreamy and Amber can't help but spot the signs of trouble: By the looks of it, a medium-sized pine has fallen, and several smaller ones were pressed down by its weight unlucky enough to stand in its way as it fell. As a result, the trail in front of you is blocked by a barrier formed of several smaller trees, with the largest one, seemingly perfectly healthy, on top of the others. Medium-sized adventurers could probably climb over it, the smaller folks might have more trouble; where a daring rider might make his horse jump over the obstacle, you doubt that you could lead them across. If across is not an option, then either of the sides might do the trick, right? To the left, the fallen trees reach into the water, and you can see how the current pulls on the branches; to the right, the vegetation is as thick as elsewhere, but if necessary, your blades could cut through the thorny bushes just fine.

Where the leading two riders see the obstacle, those who follow mostly see their backs - and naturally, their eyes glance sideways more often instead. About the same time when Amber and Dreamy spot the obstacle, Fijit notices movements - on the other side of the river, about a bow shot away. Through the vegetation there, the gnome's eyes spot what looks like several humanoid shapes making their way northwards, their movements somewhat slow and clumsy. From what she can see, they do not seem to pay your group any attention.

Rodrik and Aysik - being in the back, you see little, but... something feels different. Following his instincts, Aysik turns to the right - but there is nothing. No movement. No sound. No obvious danger.

What do you do?

 

[Sherwood]

Aysik frowns, trying to see what the hold-up is and not liking the possible answers that come to mind. He looks to the right side, but sees nothing of note, wondering if there is any danger in the total lack of sound. Shouldn't there be some sound of animals rooting around in the bushes? Hmmm. Could be trouble. Better look.

He says, "I'm going to go poke around there and try to clear the path for the horses." He slips down from the back of his sinister horse and unlimbers his sword from his back, heading over towards the right side of the trail with his eyes and ears open and searching for any sign of trouble as he looks for anything that might be a hazard for the horses.

 

[Psychie]

Amber stays seated in her saddle, but unlimbers her shortbow and looks about carefully as Aysik starts to investigate the side of the road for any threats and a potential way around the road block.

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Thomas, for his part, had been flicking idly through a book written by a local historian, partly out of interest and partly out as a means to take his mind off the pain in his rump. He only looked up when his horse stopped moving and people started to dismount and unlimber weapons.
"What's afoot?" he asked, stowing his book and reaching for his own weapons. He didn't yet trust his stiff back and cramped thighs to attempt dismounting in anything like an elegant ashion.

 

[jaydude]

Deciding to follow Aysik's lead, Rodrik dismounted from his horse and loaded a bolt into his crossbow, before following the soldier on his search.

"Careful. This is looking like an ideal scene for an ambush..." he said quietly.

 

[Sherwood]

Deciding to follow Aysik's lead, Rodrik dismounted from his horse and loaded a bolt into his crossbow, before following the soldier on his search.

"Careful. This is looking like an ideal scene for an ambush..." he said quietly.

Aysik nods, keeping his eyes peeled. "I concur. If there is anything that is about to happen, it will be here. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid, but I've seen too many good men lose their lives for being too trusting."

 

[Kaerri]

Fijit's attention wanders as the group rides single-file down the narrow pathway. Her mount, Shade, continues to be reassuringly stable under her, though she rather wishes Lord Jordenin had provided a pony instead. A pony's back was at least a little narrower. However, its speed was also slower, which was probably why they all had horses instead. Wondering if Rodrick is equally uncomfortable on horseback, she turns to look at the dwarf, but movement to their side distracts her eyes. She pauses, awkwardly half-twisted in her saddle, and peers across the river. "There's something over there," she announces. "Or someone maybe. I can't really see them well through all the plants, but there's more than a couple, and they aren't moving like I'd expect. Slower and clumsier." She's about to voice her own bat-induced suspicions, but suddenly thinks it would be interesting to see what the others' thoughts are without her throwing a lead out first. Closing her mouth, she belatedly points out the humanoid forms moving on the other side of the river.

 

[Purr]

Dreamy doesn't notice anything highly unusual until Fijit speaks and the dismounting of people begins. It appears to her that the party wants to stop, stay quiet, and discover so Dreamy decides to do the same. As the acolyte Paladin of Desna tries to carefully dismount, she whispers to Fijit.

"Thanks for the warning. Oh, and uh, would you be more comfortable maybe riding side-saddle? You look almost as if you're trying to do the splits on that big ol' saddle."

Dreamy tries to quietly draw her sword all the while looking and listening for what her party members are doing and what might be out there.

 

[Silanon]

Step by step, Aysik makes his path through undergrowth and bushes, warily eyeing his surrounding; with Rodrik close behind and the others at the ready to act whenever necessary. And yet, when something finally happens, neither of you is prepared to pick up much. There's no movement. No warning. Just a sudden impact out of nowhere. The fighter feels that something hits his shoulder with brute force; and hears the sounds of rustling leaves as the projectile bounces off his scalemail instead of penetrating the steel.

Rodrik's close; and the sound that reaches his ear is familiar. After all, he's heard it often enough already. It's exactly what the bolt of a crossbow sounds like when it fails to do its job properly. Luckily, for Aysik. Given the direction, it must've been fired from deeper within the forest, but neither of you can make out any detail that might give the shooter's position away.

What would you like to do? Reloading a crossbow only takes so long... no need to roll for initiative, but you'll all have about a combat round's worth of time to act if you so wish.

 

[jaydude]

"AMBUSH!" Rodrik shouted instinctively, once he heard the sound of the crossbow bolt bouncing off of Aysik's armor. He then frantically looked around for anything nearby that could serve as cover for him and the human.

 

[Silanon]

A quick glance reveals two options nearby: A larger tree to Rodrik's right would offer cover for one standing man, a fallen trunk to his left, covered in moss, would offer protection for both if you lie down; bushes would obscure your own vision there as well, however.

 

[jaydude]

Seeing the standing tree, Rodrik moved to press up behind it, making sure it was between himself and the place he'd seen the crossbow bolt come from.

 

[Psychie]

Amber is not a country girl to have been raised riding horses, so her first instinct in a fight is to get to her own two feet and slip away unseen. With a quick heave, she throws her leg nearest to the underbrush over the back of the horse to put it between her and the shooter(s) and bolts towards the front of their column, planning on sneaking up on whomever it is that is taking pot-shots at them and putting a stop to that nonsense with a quickness.

Spoiler

OOC attempting a Stealth roll to go into hiding at a +8 to the roll, along with trying a Perception roll at +3 to spot any attackers
EDIT: Stealth ended up as a 13, but I got a 22 on my Perception check.

Class: Rogue
Hit Points: 10

Fort Save: +1
Reflex Save: +7
Will Save: -1
Armor Class: 18
Touch AC: 15
Flat Footed AC: 13
CM Bonus: 0
CM Defense: 15

Base Attack: 0
Initiative: +5

Weapons
Dagger x4 +5 to hit, 1d4 damage, Crit 19-20/x2 - (+3 to hit with TWF), range 10
Rapier +5 to hit, 1d6 damage, Crit 18-20/x2 - (+3 to hit with TWF)
Shortbow +5 to hit, 1d6 damage, Crit x3, range 60
--20 Arrows
Sneak Attack Damage: +1d6

Armor
Studded Leather +3 AC, Max Dex +5, Armor Check -1

Feats
Two-Weapon Fighting - Reduces penalties for using two weapons at once
Weapon Finesse - Use Dex to determine to-hit instead of Strength

 

[Captain Hesperus]

Halfway out of the saddle, Thomas is taken aback by Rodrik's warning and drops to the ground, his thighs and calves suddenly awash with pins and needles from their uncomfortable position astride the horse. Regardless, he brings his shield around and up then lumbers over to Fijit's horse, intent on protecting the diminuitive alchemist with his superior armor.
"Who's attacking and where away?!", he shouted back. Experience of ambushes with the Silver Shields had taught him that the direction and distance were as important as knowledge of the who or what.
He cast a wary eye to the rear of their column, for classical ambush strategies usually employed a rear assault to close off any avenue of escape.

Spoiler: Perception check

Looking for attackers behind the party: +2 WIS modifier = 9

 

[Purr]

Elven Wave Slicer in hand, Dreamy puts her shielded and armored self between the danger and her party (in this case, Fijit) as best she can. Reaching out with Desna's blessings, the Undersea Paladin attempts to use Detect Evil against their foes!

Dreamy has a passing thought that her party just stumbled across an ambush meant for the other group of humanoids, but there is no time to ponder - the time now calls for action!

 

[Kaerri]

As the acolyte Paladin of Desna tries to carefully dismount, she whispers to Fijit.

"Thanks for the warning. Oh, and uh, would you be more comfortable maybe riding side-saddle? You look almost as if you're trying to do the splits on that big ol' saddle."

Fijit ponders this as she keeps an eye on the shambling whatsits across the river. She feels like she's trying to do splits. Experimentally, she hauls one leg up, up, and over the saddlehorn, nearly losing her balance in the process. Fortunately the procession had stopped, so she doesn't quite fall off. Though the saddle clearly wasn't meant for side-saddle riding, it is a lot more comfortable this way. "Thanks!" she says, beaming at Dreamy. She kicks her feet idly against the side of the saddle, wondering if she should get off and help clear the road. Just when she's decided she would probably not be all that much help anyway, there's a sound of metal on metal (as opposed to metal on tree) somewhere near Aysik and Rodrik. "What--" she begins.

"AMBUSH!" Rodrik shouted instinctively, once he heard the sound of the crossbow bolt bouncing off of Aysik's armor.

Fijit turns her head wildly about. It isn't the whatsits, they're still doing their awkward moving thing and haven't noticed anything on this side of the water, so far as she can tell. She peers ahead to where the others had been working on the path. Probably the enemy (it's got to be an enemy if it's shooting at them, right?) was up there somewhere. She starts to dig in her pockets, but finds her balance is off now that both feet are on the same side -- something she likely would have discovered sooner if the horse had still been in motion, no doubt. Annoyed at the whole riding thing in general, she hooks one knee over the saddle horn to hold herself in place.

Then not one, but two of her fellows drop into position between her and the danger! She can just see over Dreamy and Thomas's heads to aim, but most of her ought to be covered by her friends' armored and shielded selves. That feels rather nice, actually. She hunches down a little in the saddle to better hide behind them, and peers over their shoulders, trying to find a target.